It is often said that in this era of globalisation the most important things to business people are time and speed. Those two things are what Herbert Vongpusanachai's life is all about, for he was recently appointed manager of DHL Express International (Thailand) - the head of the global courier company's Express Unit in Thailand and Indochina, covering Laos, Cambodia and Burma.

He has just finished rescheduling his life to match the new workload and counts on an assortment of high-tech gadgets to help him maintain a balance between his job and his family.

In his early forties, Herbert is the first Thai executive to be promoted to DHL's regional managerial level. DHL Express is one of the company's three business units in Thailand. The others are DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Exel Supply Chain.

Over the past four years, Herbert has seen DHL Thailand expand rapidly to an organisation with a staff of 4,000. Of these, about 800 work for DHL Express.

He likes to split his time equally between work and his family, but he has lately felt the squeeze on his private life.

"We can connect to each other from wherever we are," he says, referring to his wife and two sons, aged six and three. Normally, he talks to his boys by webcam, via the Internet. "Even my youngest son can use a computer to chat with me," Herbert says with obvious pride.

Notebooks and smart phones are essential gadgets in his daily life. One of his smart phones checks e-mail around the clock, and he uses wireless links to access both the Internet and DHL's network, so that he can attend to everyday tasks like approving purchase requests or employees' days off from wherever he might be.

Herbert was educated as an engineer, and learned computer science. Before joining DHL, he worked for Microsoft and Bank of Ayudhya, so familiarity with high-tech equipment is in his blood.

He joined DHL during the company's business restructuring and was trained for three months by a senior figure in the company.

He believes that DHL's express business unit in Thailand has been given responsibility for the countries of Indochina because of the rapid growth of Thailand's logistics market.

Herbert and his team of 10 experts have to visit Laos, Cambodia and Burma at least once a quarter to train workers there.

"What we find in these countries is the same as Thailand had over the past 30 or 40 years," he says.

His main duty is to review the state of DHL Express's operation in each country and decide what developments need priority.

"This is not only in policy matters, but also in training," he says, adding that although the three countries have different government regimes and cultures, they are nevertheless connected. However, the more liberal countries have greater opportunities for logistics development.

The common aspects of culture between Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Thailand make for ease in planning and operations.

In his working life, Herbert has been a regular air traveller between Bangkok and Singapore over the past 11 years. Now, the air routes of Indochina have been added to his regular travel. However, he maintains a broad smile and high energy.

He explains that logistics emerged from the demand to move things from one place to another. In today's business environment, competitiveness has become a critical factor and many companies rely on efficient logistics to maintain their edge. Some products can be offered at more competitive prices if they are delivered promptly, since the first products on the shelves are often the most successful.

"The heart of the logistics business consists of speed, reliability, innovation and a global network," he says, adding simply: "We are part of trade."

While logistics itself has been around for more than 100 years, express services have been operating for only about 10 years. Importers and exporters, especially those in large industrial sectors like electronics, semiconductors, garments and textiles, use express services because their products have a short shelf-life.

In his working philosophy, Herbert holds to three principles: teamwork, learning from mistakes and increasing experience.

In the future, he wants logistics customers to be able to see where goods are in each supply chain, in real time.

In the meantime, he tries to spend as much time as possible with his wife and sons, even if it is via cyberspace. For Herbert Vongpusanachai, time and speed have become as much a part of his family life as they are a vital part of his work.

Sasithorn Ongdee

The Nation